Like the Universe
by vintageyouth
Summary: An AU in which the 11th Doctor and his TARDIS end up in the wizarding world, with no escape. He creates an alias with the help of Dumbledore, and begins his studies at Hogwarts School, in search of a friend, which seems to be his only way out.
1. The Sorting

I obviously own neither _Harry Potter_ nor _Doctor Who. _My friend also helped me come up with the concept for this fic, so half credit goes to her, for the story and part of this chapter as well. I take no ownership over the few and far between dialogue and events taken from _The Half-Blood Prince_, only used in this story for accuracy, and context, when it's relevant.

* * *

Luna Lovegood was completely immersed in sketching a thestral. So immersed, in fact that she did not see the first years walking into the Great Hall, nor did she hear them.

On the contrary, Eleven was nothing but wide eyes and a wonderstruck expression as he took in the Great Hall and the hundreds of students all waiting for the first years.

As was to be expected, a few Slytherins snorted and guffawed at the eldest student by far, emerging from the pack. Standing at an gangly 6 ft 3 inches of pure awkward flaily limbs, he was impossible to miss.

" 'Ey Luna, look at that!" a Ravenclaw girl elbowed Luna, knocking the Spectrespecs onto her nearly finished drawing.

Luna put her Spectrespecs back on her face, and turned to see what the commotion was about. An gawky person with the aura of an overgrown schoolboy was standing opposite a clump of anxious-looking first years. His head was filled with Wrackspurts.

"Hm, he must be new," she commented vaguely. "Looks a bit old, though,"

From the Gryffindor table, she could hear Seamus Finnegan's boisterous Irish tone telling an (odd) story to whomever would listen.

Though most wizards were a bit strange, compared to Muggles, at least, this new boy seemed to be a different kind of strange. More eccentric, really. And a bit of an outcast. Like Luna. She had to admit, he also looked rather handsome, (and also rather like a giraffe). He had long hair, and a pale, square face, and eyes with secrets and dreams in them. Eyes like hers.

"I hope he's a Ravenclaw," she whispered to herself.

"May I have your attention!" Professor McGonagall asked, quieting the din.

The Doctor jumped and looked at the professor. His eyes had been fixed on the Great Hall's starry ceiling.

"Intimidating," he thought to himself. Secretly, beneath his three-sizes-too-small robe (issued at the request of the large man named Hagrid), he pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver to see just what "she was about". "Hmm... cat. Interesting. I pegged her as a platypus, really."

"Oi! Watch out, freako! They're calling us up," A rather rotund 11 year old boy

exclaimed.

The Doctor lowered himself down a full two feet, "I do not like being referred to as freako, sir, and I'd appreciate you honoring my request."

Sadly, it wasn't honored, and suddenly the first years were chanting.

"Down with Freako!"

It wasn't long until Slytherin table picked up the incantation.

"Silence!" Professor Dumbledore stood from his center chair at the table at the front of the Great Hall. "I do not appreciate new students being taunted before they even have a chance to be sorted. Or at all, for that matter."

He continued, "You may all have more than likely noticed that we have an…older student in our midst. This is John Smith, and he has transferred to Hogwarts from a wizarding school in Ireland, Gallifrey Academy of Wizardry and Technology."

The Doctor raised a hand and wiggled his fingers in nervous greeting. "Hello…!"

"Now, Professor McGonagall, let us please commence with the Sorting ceremony." Dumbledore sat back down and smiled expectantly.

Professor McGonagall set a stool in front of the first years, and the Doctor. She set the Sorting Hat, as filthy and patched as ever, on top of it.

The Hat gave a jerk, and began to sing through a rip in its brim, as it did every year. The Hat sang of the four Houses and their founders, and ended by advising the students to stay united in the face of danger.

Then, the Sorting began.

"Asvor, Arundel!" McGonagall called.

A skinny boy clambered up to the stool. The Hat was placed upon his head, and without hesitation, Arundel was sorted.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff cheered as they welcomed their newest student to the table.

"Atkinson, Quimby!"

The Hat sorted Atkinson, Quimby into Gryffindor after a short consideration.

"Brixton, Holly!"

The Hat fell over Holly's eyes, and decided she was a Ravenclaw.

Luna clapped along with the rest of the Ravenclaws as Holly sat down.

"Carlton, Phillip!"

The rotund boy who had instigated the uproarious chants of 'Down with Freako!' sauntered up to the stool and sat on it imperiously. The hat was dropped on his head.

Promptly, the Hat screeched, "SLYTHERIN!"

The Doctor fidgeted nervously, thinking about the possibilities of sorting. _Of course I can't be a Slytherin, but what if that's what the Hat sees… No offense to Gryffindor, but that's too much pressure. All I want from this is—_

"Smith, John!"

Woken from his daze, The Doctor noticed that he was the only one left unsorted.

"Oh… So… it's my turn…" The Doctor approached the Sorting Hat with a inelegant, overconfident strut. Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on his head, and it fell halfway over his face.

"Oh, I see. Another complicated one," the Hat mumbled in his ear. "Haven't had one like you since the Potter boy…"

"Just anywhere where I'll have a friend, please, Mister Hat," the Doctor requested.

"Oh, but you could have friends in any of the houses. A brave one like you, the weight of the universe on your shoulders, so very bold, you could be a Gryffindor. But of course, such a friendly boy, so very inviting, always helping, always working… those are the traits of the Hufflepuff House."

It had been at least a minute since the Doctor had sat down. He rubbed his sweaty palms together, and struggled to slow down the anxious beating of his hearts.

The Hat continued. "And then there is the incredible rage you bottle up inside. The shrewdness that so often saves your life, and those of the ones around you. And of course… the fact that you, not a wizard, not even human, here for your personal gain. Someone of Slytherin house would take such actions. You would do well there."

"It sounds so bad when you say it like that," the Doctor said. "I just want a friend, someone who understands me, someone I can talk to."

"Indeed… and such intelligence, the ambition, oh you foolish boy, your ambition and reputation precede you. Your subtle humor in wit included, Ravenclaw might just fit you."

"Yes!" The Doctor exclaimed internally, "That one! Ravenclaw! Put me with the nerds and the weirdoes who are strangely ambitious, there."

"Are you sure? I still stand at Slytherin being your most compatible house…"

"Of course I'm sure! RAVENCLAW!" As the Doctor stood up from the stool, he knocked the Hat onto the ground. The entire student body was staring at him with very confused looks on their faces. Then he realized the issue. He had shouted that sentence, and not internally.

Ravenclaw's house table stood up in an uproar and waved down the strange, outdated new student. All except Luna, who took off her Spectrespecs and smiled invitingly at The Doctor.

The corner of the Doctor's mouth twitched in reply. He bent down and picked up the Hat, thrust it back on his head, and sat down again.

"It seems you _are _sure," The Hat observed. "Well, then, I suppose… RAVENCLAW!"

The uproarious Ravenclaw students sheepishly reseated themselves, and hid their heads in shame.

Luna Lovegood leapt up, and clapped vigorously.

The Doctor stood up once more, removed the Sorting Hat, and placed it gingerly on the stool.

"Sorry for dropping you," he murmured.

The other house tables cheered and clapped, mostly out of thankfulness that the eccentric new student wasn't part of their houses. The Doctor started towards the Ravenclaw table as Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the hat away.

"Oh, and Mr. Smith?" Dumbledore called after him.

The Doctor took a few more steps before he realized that it was he who was being requested. He hadn't quite gotten used to being called John Smith yet. He froze and turned back on his heel. "Yes, Professor?"

"Why don't we put you in sixth year classes? Unless you'd rather be a first year…?"

"Oh no, sir, sixth year would be lovely, thank you," The Doctor bowed his head appreciatively.

"Very well,"

The Doctor continued his journey to the Ravenclaw table and made his way to the far end of the table where the only student who seemed pleased that he was a Ravenclaw was sitting alone.

"May I?" The Doctor gestured to the empty seat beside Luna.

"Oh, of course," Luna replied.

The Doctor sat in the chair on Luna's left. "What's your name, then?" He asked, putting his folded arms on the table and leaning forward on them, and smiling at her.

"Luna Lovegood," she replied.

"Lovely name, Luna Lovegood. I'm th—"

"The new student, John Smith. Yes, I know."

The Doctor was grateful for her interruption. He had nearly blown his cover.

"Yes. Yep. That's me." He made a relieved expression as she turned away to face the High Table.

Professor Dumbledore rose from his chair. "Welcome, students," he began, "To a new year at Hogwarts. Before we tuck in to the splendid meal the House Elves have prepared for us all, I would like to like to inform you all that earlier in the day I purchased the most wonderful pair of socks at Zonko's Joke Shop. They feature dragons that fly round and tickle your toes. I highly recommend them. That will be all." He sat back down.

The Great Hall filled with the sounds of clapping and cheers. The Doctor made a note to find a pair of such socks during a Hogsmeade visit in the future.

A feast appeared on the plates lining table in the Hall. The Doctor put hearty servings of everything in front of him on his plate.

The Doctor dropped his gaze to Luna's sketchbook. "I like your drawing," he said. "Is that one of the creatures pulling the carriages? I saw them on the way in."

Luna looked at him as she spooned potatoes on her plate. "Yes. They're called Thestrals. Visible to only people who have seen death."

The grin that was on his face melted off. "Cheery, that," he muttered, and ate a bite of Yorkshire pudding

"They're very gentle creatures. They can be domesticated and used in place of broomsticks or Apparition. They can take you anywhere you want to go quite quickly," Luna said, lifting a dinner roll from a basket by the peas and putting it next to her potatoes. "But they're often misunderstood. They're thought of as bad omens sometimes, due to the whole death thing. And some people think they're scary, because they look so different. "

"I think they look beautiful." The Doctor's grin returned.

"So do I."

Luna and the Doctor briefly partook in small talk with the new students sitting near them. But soon, they began talking to each other again.

"So, how long have you been at Hogwarts, Luna?"

"This is my fifth year."

"And how do you like it here?"

"It's lovely. I've made some friends, and the classes are very interesting. You'll like it here, too, I think."

The Doctor smiled. "I think you're right."

Luna adjusted the Spectrespecs on her head and smiled.

"What do those glasses do?" The Doctor pointed at them.

"They're Spectrespecs. They enable me to see Wrackspurts."

"Wrackspurts?"

"The float through your ears and make your brain go all fuzzy."

"And do I have…Wrackspurts?" the Doctor wondered.

"A whole head-full."

"That," he said, "Explains so much."

"You don't think I'm crazy, then?" Luna was used to people's skeptical reactions when she told tales of creatures people normally couldn't see.

"Maybe a bit. But it's alright. I am, too. How do I get rid of them?"

Luna tilted her head with a little smile. "It's simple, really. Just think positive thoughts."

The Doctor smiled, too. "I think I can manage that."

Over heaping plates of dessert, Luna told him about Nargles and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. The Doctor was completely immersed in the conversation, and almost didn't hear Dumbledore signal for silence so he could make announcements. The Doctor noticed that Dumbledore's right hand was blackened and looked rather dead. However, the Professor waved it off airily.

"Now that we've all been fed, I'd like to make a few brief announcements. Students should keep in mind that the forest is forbidden to all students. Also, Mr. Filch would like me to remind students that magic is not to be used in corridors between classes. He also would like me to inform you that all products of the joke shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are banned. On a cheerful note, Quidditch trials will take place the second week of the term. Students interested in playing for their Houses should contact the Heads of their respective Houses. We are also in need of new commentators, who should do likewise."

The Doctor wondered what position he might be good at in Quidditch.

"Lastly, I would like to welcome Professor Slughorn back to the Hogwarts staff. He shall be resuming his old post as Potions master," Professor Dumbledore announced.

The Great Hall filled with the surprised mutterings of students.

Dumbledore rose his voice to carry above the din. "Meanwhile, Professor Snape shall be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" A student said loudly. The Doctor turned to see where the exclamation had come from. Many heads were turned towards the Gryffindor table, where a boy with black hair, round glasses framing green eyes, and a scar in the shape of a bolt of lightning was staring indignantly up at the High Table.

"Is that…?" the Doctor murmured.

"Harry Potter." Luna finished his thought. "He seems to be upset about the new teaching arrangements."

The Doctor followed Harry Potter's gaze up to a man dressed in all black with dark, greasy hair, a hook nose and a smug expression on his face. That must be Snape, he thought.

The Hall buzzed with conversation, only to be hushed by Professor Dumbledore clearing his throat. He gave a warning about Lord Voldemort and his followers gaining strength once more, and reminded students to abide security restrictions, and to report any suspicious behavior in or around the castle to a member of staff.

"But now," Dumbledore smiled again. "Your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say goodnight. Pip pip!"

The Doctor stood with the rest of the students, contributing to the great scraping noise of all the benches being pushed back at once. He walked with Luna to Ravenclaw Tower, where their House's dormitories were located. He would have liked to talk with her some more, but the feast had made him full and quite drowsy.

Luna, however, was glancing attentively at the moving paintings at the wall, watching the staircases move, drinking in all the things she'd missed about Hogwarts over the summer.

When they'd finished their trek up the long spiral staircase leading to Ravenclaw Tower, they stopped at a door, which had only a knocker in the shape of an eagle. The Prefect knocked once, and the knocker gave her a riddle, which she answered easily. The door swung open, and all the Ravenclaws clambered through the open door.

All the students walked to an entrance behind a marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, their House founder, which led to the dormitories.

"Goodnight, John," Luna said as she started towards the staircase leading to the fifth year girls dorm.

The Doctor yawned. "Nighty-night." He followed the other sixth year boys to the dorm.

The Doctor found a trunk at the end of one bed with the initials J.S. and opened it. It contained the sixth year uniform of black robes with the Ravenclaw crest, a pointed hat, and some of his clothes from the TARDIS wardrobe. He found his pajamas and put them on, then climbed into bed, pulling the sky blue silk eiderdown up over his chin, and fell asleep.


	2. Rule Number One

The Doctor had heard a Prefect tell the first years that the wind whistling through the windows was very relaxing. But at three in the morning, when he was woken up by said wind, he couldn't agree less.

He tried tuning it out, and that didn't work. He tried putting his pillow over his head, but he couldn't breathe. He tossed and turned for half an hour, then finally gave up. He got out of bed and sneaked downstairs into the common room. In the light of the fire, he could see a pair of feet sat on the back of one of the couches, toes wiggling in the air. The Doctor stepped forward to see to whom the feet were attached.

Luna stared up at the domed ceiling of the common room, dressed in a polka dotted nightgown, beneath which striped pajama pants were visible. She was waving her wand around lazily, making a steady stream of white sparks pour out the end.

"Hello John." She greeted him without shifting her eyes from the ceiling.

"Hey, Luna. Couldn't sleep either?"

"No. Sometimes I just like to wander downstairs at three in the morning and make sparks fly for no reason at all."

The Doctor couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

"…Right. May I sit?"

"If you like."

He sat on the couch beside the upside-down Luna. He watched her sparks fly up.

"I like your wand," he said after a good minute or two of silence.

"Thank you. I like it too."

"You should. It's cool."

More silence followed.

"Will you show me yours?" Luna said.

"What?"

"Your wand." Luna sat up, curling her feet under herself. "What does it look like?"

The Doctor fought back a smirk. _She wanted to see his _wand_._ He pulled his Sonic Screwdriver out of his pocket. He pressed a button; the green tip popped out and the Sonic emitted it's whirring sound.

"Ooh!" Luna's eyes widened. "I've never seen one like that before. Where did you get it?"

The Doctor smiled grimly. Where did he get it? The TARDIS gave it to him when his old one got fried, of course. But as he was supposed to be a transfer student from a wizard's school in Ireland, he couldn't tell her that he was a thousand year-old time traveling alien whose spaceship had decided to take him to a school of magic.

So, he told a lie to go along with the story he and Dumbledore decided they would use when he informed him that his TARDIS landed here and refused to go anywhere else.

"At my old school, we studied both Muggle and wizard technologies, putting them together to best use them both. We made our own wands to be capable of magic, but also quite technologically advanced. They do everything a normal wand can, and more."

Luna took it from his hand and studied it. "It reminds me of the device a man from a story my daddy once told me."

The Doctor's mouth twitched. "What story is that?"

"It's about a man who calls himself the Doctor, and he travels through time and space, saving people and going on adventures. Sometimes his face changes, but it's always him. Usually he brings a friend along. And he always has his Sonic Screwdriver."

"That," the Doctor said softly, "Sounds like a very interesting story."

"It's one of my favorites." Luna smiled vaguely. "But that's all it is, I think. Just a story."

"What makes you say that?"

"Some stories are better left as stories. Then you're not as disappointed when you find out they're not real."

Luna stood up, and stretched. "I think I'll go to bed now. I'll see you in the morning, John." She started for the dorms.

"Sweet dreams, Luna."

The Doctor listened to the sound of Luna padding up the stairs until it faded away. He flopped sideways onto the couch with a groan.

"What are you doing?" he whispered to himself.

He wanted to leave. Now, before he had to lie again. Now, before he got attached. Before he hurt her. He couldn't let her trust him. Because when she found out who he really was, she would be destroyed. And she would leave. And he would miss her.

Tomorrow morning, he would try leaving again. God knows what would happen if he stayed.


	3. Trying To Run Away

This chapter is slightly inspired by an idea from _Paper Towns _by John Green.

* * *

The Doctor had stayed in the common room all night. He might have dozed off once or twice, he couldn't quite remember.

At five in the morning, he got off the couch, and went up to the dormitory to get dressed. He changed as quickly and quietly as he could, not even bothering to properly do his hair. He crept downstairs and out the door.

The Doctor walked as quickly and as inconspicuously as possible out of the castle and to the forest, where the TARDIS was hidden. He pushed the door open with a creak, stepped into the doorway, and turned around, looking at Hogwarts through the trees.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said in an undertone. He shut the TARDIS door and went to the console.

The Doctor ran around flipping switches, turning knobs and pulling levers, setting a course for London.

Blinking away the image of Luna's big, shining eyes, and her vague, gentle smile, he pulled down the lever for takeoff.

Whereupon nothing happened at all.

"Don't do this to me, old girl." The Doctor reset the coordinates and tried again, to no avail. "No! We need to go." He flung the lever up and down in frustration. "I can't stay here!"

"It's no use, Doctor," said a deep voice behind him.

The Doctor spun around. Albus Dumbledore stood behind him with twinkling eyes.

"Nothing can Apparate to or from the Hogwarts grounds. Not even a Time Lord and his ship."

"But I need to leave. I don't want to lie anymore."

Dumbledore approached the console. "Doctor, I think your TARDIS dropped you here for a reason. It doesn't like you to be alone." He ran a hand over the console's edge.

"What's the point of it? I'll be alone again anyway. They always leave, or forget, or die."

"So, if I am correctly understanding the situation, you want to be the one to go first?"

Dumbledore was right, of course, but the Doctor said nothing.

"Get comfortable here, Doctor. Make friends. You will be able to leave when the time is right. And do find someone, won't you?"

"But I don't want…"

"You don't want what? To get attached to anybody?"

"Yes."

"Why is that?"

"Because once they find out—and they _will_ find out—they'll leave. I don't want to miss anyone. And I am _TIRED_ OF MISSING PEOPLE!"

The Doctor's scream echoed through the TARDIS. The Doctor stared down at his feet to hide his face, contorted with pain. A tear fell onto his shoe.

After the echoes all faded, Dumbledore stated calmly. "If I may, Doctor, it seems you feel that one can never be loved as strongly as they are missed. I believe you need to find someone to love more than you will miss if they leave."

Professor Dumbledore retreated to the doorway. Just before he left, he turned his head, saying, "Classes begin at nine o' clock. I suggest you put on your uniform and eat something in the time between now and then. And perhaps also put a bit more effort into your coiffure. Unless, of course, you styled it that way intentionally."

Dumbledore stepped out of the TARDIS and closed the door. The Doctor slumped against the console with a sigh, dropping his head in his hands. Upon hearing the door creak open a second later, he lifted it, to see Dumbledore's head peeking out.

"One more thing: Quite fond of the bow-tie." The door shut again and Dumbledore was gone.

The Doctor's hand went to his throat. He fingered his bow-tie with a half smile. His boots tapped rhythmically on the TARDIS floor a few times, then the Doctor leapt up, heading for the door.

"Geronimo."


	4. The Quibbler

Hair fixed and robes on, the Doctor walked into the Great Hall, which was full of students eating breakfast. He made his way to the Ravenclaw table, and located Luna, and sat beside her on the bench.

"Good morning," he greeted her as he put scrambled eggs, sausage, and a muffin on his plate.

"Good morning," Luna replied, as she spread orange marmalade on a piece of toast.

The Doctor ate a forkful of his eggs, and looked up at the ceiling, which was sky blue with a few wispy clouds swirling around. The two ate in silence until the mail came, a hundred owls pouring into the Great Hall, dropping packages and letter onto tables and into students' laps. A barn owl dropped a magazine called _The Quibbler _next to Luna's plate. Luna stuck her piece of toast in her mouth and picked up the magazine with both hands, flipping it open.

"_Quibbler_, eh?" The Doctor said as he took a bite from his sausage.

"My father's the editor. Have you read it?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Oh. You ought to. I think it's brilliant, Harry Potter himself was interviewed for it last year. That issue had to be reprinted. _The Quibbler's _been catching more attention ever since."

"That's good, right?"

"Oh, yes, it was very good. We had enough money to go to Sweden last Summer to look for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"Must've been quite the adventure." The Doctor's mouth stretched into its thin, content smile.

"It was lovely. We never did find it, though."

"Pity." The Doctor poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice and took a sip. "Better luck next time."

"I hope so. I was so very looking forward to finding one."

Just then Professor Flitwick approached the Doctor.

"Ah, Mr. Smith, let's put your N.E.W.T.s schedule together, shall we? Professor Dumbledore gave me your O.W.L.s scores from your old school."

In all honesty, the Doctor and Dumbledore made up his scores.

"Let's see, an 'Outstanding' in Astronomy…oh, very good, 'Exceeds Expectations' in Charms…I'm the Charms teacher, you see…"

When all was said and done, the Doctor was cleared to "continue" with Astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbology. He'd also "done well in History of Magic" but decided not to take what he heard was the most boring and tedious of all the classes at Hogwarts. He also had breaks after Charms, his first class, after lunch, and between Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology. Astronomy he had at midnight once a week.

Professor Flitwick handed Luna her schedule. It had all the usual classes, but she had also signed up for Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies. After reading over her schedule, she put it down on the table and picked up _The Quibbler_ again.

The Doctor ate his breakfast quietly, as no other student initiated conversation with him, and Luna was absorbed in her magazine. Staring down at his plate, poking his eggs around, a piece of paper slid into his line of vision. He shifted his eyes to it; Luna had moved her issue of _The Quibbler_ so that he could read it, too. He tilted his head to read the page that Luna had open, and they read together until the Great Hall began clearing out as students headed to their classes.

Luna put the magazine in her book bag, and stood up. The Doctor stood with her.

"I'll see you at lunch, then, I suppose."

"I…uh, yeah, yup…I will be eating lunch…here."

"Have a good day, John." She turned, her hair flying over her shoulder, and skipped off to Herbology.

A dimple appeared in the Doctor's cheek and he started to walk to the dungeon for Charms, tripping over a bench in the process.


	5. Sonic vs Potions

After Charms class, the Doctor walked back to the common room, his bag weighed down by the homework he had received. He had tried making a friend in class while attempted to vinegar to wine. It didn't really work, as he spilled vinegar on the person he was talking to. He received a dirty look from them in the hall on his way to Ravenclaw tower.

When he was granted entry after answering a question, he walked into the common room, and took a book from one of the many shelves, and went up to his room to read it. He'd somehow managed to select what was probably the most boring book in the whole common room, and at some point during his reading, the book had may its way onto his face, and he fell asleep breathing the smell of the book's pages.

Almost an hour later, the Doctor woke up, shooting upright in bed, the book falling onto the floor. Checking his watch, he had only two minutes to get to Potions. Being late to his first Potions class would leave a very poor impression. He scrambled up, grabbed his book bag, and scurried down the turret stairs, rushed out of the common room, and down the spiral staircase, nearly mowing over a second year.

He jumped the last few stairs and ran as fast as his flaily Time Lord legs could take him. He wove ungracefully through clumps of students and teachers, and almost died when a step on a stair case disappeared just as his foot touched it.

By some miracle, the Doctor made it to the Potions classroom just as Professor Slughorn opened the dungeon door. He filed in with the rest of the students, three Gryffindors (Harry Potter and his friends), four Slytherins, three other Ravenclaws, and one Hufflepuff.

The classroom was full of interesting scents. Walking past a cauldron filled with a substance with a mother-of-pearl sheen, he smelled something he could only describe as "TARDIS", custard, books, and a sweet, earthy scent that smelled familiar, and wonderful, and new. He'd stopped in his tracks at that cauldron, wanting nothing else but to stand there and inhale the aroma forever, and the student behind him bumped into him because of it.

"Ooh, sorry," he said, and made his way to the table the rest of the Ravenclaws were at.

The class period began with the professor quizzing them on the four potions he had displayed, the names of which Harry's friend, Hermione, her name was, knew all of. After he told them that a prize of a teeny bottle of Felix Felicis would be awarded to the student who could best produce a Draught of Living Death, the Doctor began working on making the potion from his book, along with the other students.

Having never actually gone to a magical school, this task proved to be harder for the Doctor that most other students. He had to give all the ingredients in his kit a zap with the Sonic to find out what they actually were, and even then, creating the Draught was quite difficult. When he'd noticed the entire room was filling with bluish steam, he Sonicked his cauldron of ingredients, and the liquid inside turned the color of black-currants. He stirred the potion counterclockwise, and tried zapping it some more, willing it to turn a pale shade, but it wouldn't budge, and his arm was growing tired. He was about to Sonic it using a higher frequency, but just as he picked up his Screwdriver, Professor Slughorn called time.

The Doctor, along with the rest of the class, it seemed was surprised to find that Harry Potter had one the Felix Felicis, and not Hermione. He hadn't expected to win it, of course, but he wouldn't have objected to winning it. Maybe he could have gotten the TARDIS to take off.

After class ended, the Doctor made his way to the Great Hall for lunch. All that potion-making was making his belly rumble.

"Hello, John," Luna's voice came from behind him.

The Doctor swiveled on his toe. "Hello, Luna! How's your first day of classes going?"

"Oh, quite well. I've just had Defense Against the Dark Arts with my friend Ginny. She drew a picture of Professor Snape and charmed it to dance the Macarena."

The Doctor chuckled. "Your friend sounds very funny."

"Oh, she is. You might like her. I'll introduce you sometime."

"That sounds nice. I've been having a bit of trouble making friends by myself," he admitted.

"I used to have trouble, too. Ginny was the first person to stand up for me when I was getting teased. I think people think I'm a bit odd."

"You are, a bit," the Doctor said with a simple shrug. She let him enter the Great Hall before him. "But the very good kind. The fascinating kind. Anyone who makes fun of you is missing out on a very cool person."

"Thank you, John. That's very nice to say." Luna smiled at him.

"It's also very true." They sat down at the Ravenclaw table. The Doctor put a grabbed a sandwich and put in on his plate along with a bunch of grapes.

The Doctor told Luna all about his misadventures had' had so far that day as they ate their lunch. Luna listened attentively, and after a particularly invigorating tale about the disappearing stairs that he may or may not have added to for effect, she had to use her wand to make her stew hot again.

But soon, lunch was over, and the two parted on their way to their respective classes. The Doctor made his way outside to Herbology with a bounce in his step. He had a friend. A good one. Maybe staying at Hogwarts a bit longer wouldn't be so bad.


	6. Quidditch Try-Outs

Chapter Five has been updated with a few hundred more words. I didn't notice I submitted the wrong document last time. Sorry!

* * *

A couple of weeks into term, and the Doctor had gotten into the swing of things. Even the other Ravenclaw students had gotten used to him. They often came to him for help on their Astronomy homework.

Luna was still his closest friend, though. They sat together at every meal, and talked quietly in the common room on sleepless nights. On a few occasions, the Doctor had found himself falling asleep to the sound of Luna's soft, dreamy voice.

On those nights, Luna would fashion a blanket out of thin air, and tuck it around his shoulders while she stared pensively into the flames crackling slowly in the fireplace, charming them different colors until she, too, fell asleep.

On a deep, starry night in October, the Doctor wandered downstairs to the common room. Luna wasn't where she usually was, on the couch, and he almost turned and went back upstairs to try and fall asleep again when he heard her voice.

"Good evening, John."

"Luna? Where…oh, there you are," he said, upon finding her perched on a window sill, the window pushed open and one of her legs dangling out. The other was pulled into her chest, her arms wrapped around it, her chin propped on her knee.

"How did you get up there?" he asked. The window was a good ten feet from the ground.

"I climbed, of course," Luna replied.

"Climbed what?"

"That bookcase there," she pointed at a bookcase a few feet from the window.

"Ah," the Doctor said. He flipped the bauble on the end of his sleeping cap back. It bounded against his head.

"Would you like to come up?" Luna asked.

"Er… Is there room?"

Luna swung her legs over so they both dangled outside the window. She patted the sill beside her. "There is now."

"Well, alright. What have I got to lose?"

His current generation, maybe.

"Maybe…I'll just…," the Doctor looked around for a ladder. There was one leaning on a particularly high shelf. "Ah, here."

The doctor wheeled the ladder over to the window. He climbed the rickety rungs, and plopped to a seat beside Luna. Out the window was a lovely view of the Quidditch pitch, blue and lonesome in the moonlight. The winds that kept him up at night blew softly around him, teasing the hem of his pajama bottoms and whispering through his eyelashes. He looked at Luna. Her long, wispy hair floated gently around her shoulders. He caught a whiff of something like a spring rain when he breathed. He remembered the smell coming from the Amortentia on his first day in Potions class.

"Quidditch try-outs tomorrow," Luna remarked conversationally.

"Are you gonna try out?"

"Oh, no. I much rather prefer to watch the games. They do need a new commentator, I hear, though. I might try for that."

"You'd be swell at it, I bet." He smiled.

"Do you think so?"

"You have a nice voice, Luna."

"Thank you."

There was a stretch of quiet. Luna kicked her feet back and forth.

"I think you should try out," she said.

"For commentator? I don't think so. I don't think anyone wants to listen to this voice any longer than it takes to get the answers for the star charts."

"I meant for the team," Luna shook her head, her voice almost a laugh.

"Oh," the Doctor said.

"They've got Cho as Seeker, and Roger is a Chaser and the Captain. But you could try for the other spots as Chaser. Or you could be Keeper. Or a Beater."

"Hmm, I might." It could be fun riding a broomstick. Admittedly, he'd never ridden one before, but how hard could it be?

"And the first Hogsmeade visit is the day after that."

"It is? I've been looking forward to that. What's your favorite place there?"

"Well, Honeyduke's is always nice. That's the candy shop. And the Three Broomsticks has really good Butterbeer. I like the bookshop, too. I used to always bring in a bunch of _Quibblers_ for them to stock, but since last year, they've been stocking them on their own. I like all of Hogsmeade, really."

"Would you like to go with me? Show me around?"

"I'd love to. I wanted to go with Ginny, but she and Dean Thomas are going together."

"Ah, so it all works out, then." The Doctor wiggled his feet back and forth.

"Yes, I suppose it does," Luna said.

"Lovely."

"Lovely."

The next day, after classes, the Doctor and Luna walked down to the pitch for Quidditch try-outs. Luna had talked to Professor Flitwick earlier that day at breakfast, and put her name in as a possible commentator. The Professor had told her that she was the only one to show any interest in the job so far, but she would let her know for sure a few days before the first game, which was in a month. The Doctor asked the Professor about Quidditch, and he handed him a scroll on which to sign up for try-outs that afternoon.

So, Luna ended up going to try-outs only as moral support. She sat in the stands and watched the Doctor bumble around below her.

"Right, everybody trying out, you'll need knee-pads and gloves," the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Roger Davies nudged a crate of Quidditch gear. "Suit up, grab your broom, and we'll get started."

It hadn't occurred to the Doctor until dinner that in order to try for the Quidditch team, he'd need a broomstick. He managed to get Madam Hooch, the Broomstick Flying instructor, to let him borrow one of hers, but she said he'd better not break it, and not to get it in his head that if he made the team that he'd be able to use it for all the games. He'd have to buy his own at Hogsmeade if he got on. He thought of charming a broomstick he'd found in one of the TARDIS's many closets, but then he remembered his Sonic was allergic to wood, so to speak. Not even the spell that Dumbledore cast on it before term started did much to change that. This became a problem when he had to turn a toothpick into a pencil in Charms the other week.

In any case, the Doctor wasn't really planning on making the team, so he wasn't going to think on it much further. He was only really trying out for something to do that Friday afternoon, and because Luna had looked so happy at the prospect of him being on the team. He liked making her happy.

Thus, he pulled knee-pads over his burgundy denim trousers, and gloves over his sweatered arms. With a great sigh, he looked up at the sky. It was grey, but the sky didn't seem to want to start raining. His eyes fell on a colorful blob in the stands, which could only be Luna. He waved up at her, and the blob moved in what must have been a wave back.

The Doctor mounted his broom with the other students. They all shot off into the sky, but his broom didn't seem to want to budge.

"Er…Up!" he commanded of it. The broom hovered a few inches off the ground. "Oh, come on, I know that's not all you've got. Don't you want to go flying? It's such a nice day for flying." The Doctor crouched, clutching the broom so tightly his knuckles, already quite pale, turned white. "Come on, broom. UP!"

The Doctor kicked up, and he and his broom shot into the air. It took a second to control the broom and get his bearings, but after that, he found he was able to turn loop-the-loops and swerve on the turn of a dime.

"Smith! Over here!" Roger called from across the pitch.

"Ah, right, sorry!" The Doctor sailed across the sky to where the rest of the other students floated. A lovely first impression to make.

"Everyone else has already picked a spot to play, you'll have to wait 'til the next go. Go practice riding for now, you look pretty rusty. Don't they have Quidditch at…where is it you're from again?"

"Gallifrey." he said. "…Academy of Magic and Technology. And, uh…of course there was Quidditch there. I just. I never played, you see."

"You're deciding to start now?" Roger raised his brow at him.

"You know what they say. Better late than never, right?" The Doctor laughed.

Roger stared at him.

"…Right. I'll go practice flying. Over…" He pointed with his thumb behind him, in the direction of the stands where Luna sat. "Over there."

Roger nodded curtly. He turned to the rest of the players. "Okay, you lot, let's get started." He blew his whistle.

The Doctor flew off to the other side of the pitch. He hovered in front of Luna.

"How are try-outs going?" Luna asked.

"They're not. Well, not now. He told me to practice riding around." He flew circles over Luna's head.

"Then, perhaps you should practice," Luna suggested.

"That's what I'm doing." The Doctor flipped upside-down on his broom and smiled at Luna.

"I don' t think flying round my head is quite what Roger had in mind."

The Doctor turned right-side-up and sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Go on, then."

"Alright, I'm going." The Doctor flew away, turning around to wave at Luna again and nearly running into one of the goal hoops.

The Doctor practiced making swift turns, and diving down, and flying up. He did zig-zags side-to-side, then up-and-down.

"OI! SMITH!" Roger hollered from the other end of the Quidditch pitch.

The Doctor froze mid-zig. "YES?"

"COME OVER HERE AND PLAY BEATER!"

"YESSIR!" The Doctor saluted. "ON MY WAY SIR!"

"AND QUIT CALLING ME 'SIR'!"

"SORRY, S—UH, CAPTAIN!"

The Doctor whizzed across the pitch to grab the bat Roger was holding.


	7. Adventures in Hogsmeade

"…And I want to go to Zonko's, for those socks Professor Dumbledore mentioned on the first night, but they might have them at Gladrags, too, don't you think? And then to the Three Broomsticks, for a Butterbeer, got to keep our energy up, and…"

"John," Luna interrupted.

"Yes?"

"We're walking into Madam Puddifoot's."

The Doctor's hand was indeed on the know of a pink door. He looked up at the sign above his head. "Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop", it said. Upon peering through the window, he discovered a very…pink establishment. Tiny tables, with people sitting across from each other, leaning close, making gooey eyes, and holding hands, some of them kissing. He released the handle immediately, and felt his cheeks get hot.

"Guess I…got a bit distracted, there." He tugged at the scarf tied around his neck. "I mean, uh…we could go in, if you really wanted, but the atmosphere isn't quite…"

"I much rather prefer the Three Broomsticks," said Luna. "It's much more inviting for people who are just friends."

"Friends? We're friends?" The Doctor grinned.

"Of course, silly." Luna tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.

"That's even better news than this morning's," the Doctor said with all the giddiness of a child on Christmas Day.

Luna smiled, too. "Come on. Let's go to Scrivenshaft's. I hear they have new peacock quills. I've always wanted one."

They turned around and headed back down the street to the quill shop. They left twenty minutes with a small parcel of quills each. Both got peacock quills, and the Doctor found a rare hippogriff quill, and a splendid eagle quill, and a pot of ink that was a shade of blue that reminded him of his phone box. Luna bought a pot of rainbow ink, and lavender colored stationery.

"Where next?" The Doctor bounced on the balls of his feet eagerly. Hogsmeade was right up there with some of the greatest markets he'd come across on foreign planets.

"Oh, Gladrags is just up there. You can find those socks you were talking about, and I could do with a new cardigan, and some patches for my cloak. It's starting to get too cool outside for just a sweater."

"Sounds top-notch."

There, the Doctor ended up buying three pairs of socks. Along with the tickly dragon ones, he got ones that had flashy gold and silver stars, and a pair that changed color depending on how the wearer was feeling.

"Oooh! Mood socks!" He'd exclaimed upon finding them.

Luna bought a package of patches and some colorful thread to fix her winter cloak, and a soft cardigan in the color of the sky when the sun sets, with buttons made of the same wood her wand was made of.

"Where would you like to go next, John?" Luna asked after they had wandered around for a few minutes.

"Somewhere warm. Is that the Three Broomsticks? It's warm there, isn't it?" The Doctor pointed to a shop down the street with a broom hanging over the sign that was too far away to read.

"Yes. Would you like to go inside?"

"Would I?!" The Doctor grabbed her hand and ran across the street. He pulled open the door of the crowded pub, and led her through the maze of people and tables to an empty booth.

"Ah, this is much better." the Doctor said as he unwound his scarf and pushed up the sleeves of his sweater.

Luna, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, was gazing past him. The Doctor took notice of this, and whipped his head around to see what she was staring at. Harry Potter and his friends sat in a corner, leaning in and talking conspiratorially.

"D'you want to say hello?" he asked.

Luna looked down at their table. "No, it seems they're rather busy. I wouldn't want to interrupt them." Luna adjusted her wand, which was tucked behind her left ear. "Besides, I don't think Ron likes me very much."

"Preposterous," the Doctor said.

A wizard came up to their table to take their orders.

"A butterbeer for me, please, and…Luna?"

"Me, too, please."

The wizard scribbled it down and walked away.

"This whole idea of people not wanting to be your friend is so absurd to me," the Doctor said.

"They all seem to agree with the consensus that I am crazy, and therefore not to be associated with," Luna said with a sort of shrug.

"Aren't we all a bit crazy? I mean, look at us, doing magic, wearing these silly robes, Muggles must think we're nuts."

Luna gave him an odd look. "As a general rule, wizards try to keep their existence unknown to the Muggle world, don't they?"

The Doctor sat stiffly in his chair. "R-right. Of course. Silly me." He rubbed his nose. _Stop being such a Time Lord._

The wizard came back with two large tankards with foam falling over the brim, and set them down in front of Luna and the Doctor.

"Ah, thank you." The Doctor smiled at the wizard before he grabbed his mug and took a long swig of the stuff. It warmed his insides pleasantly, and made his mouth happy.

"I don't really mind it," Luna said, setting down her mug. "The friend thing, I mean. It doesn't make sense to fret over people who don't care one way or the other about you. A few good friends is better than a lot of pretend ones."

"I couldn't agree more." The Doctor licked the foam from his lips.

"I think that's one of my favorite things about the legend of the Doctor. It was always just him and that lucky person he chose, but they had each other. Each other, and the whole universe to explore. I'd like to think we would get on well." She stirred her butterbeer around with a spoon.

A shadow crossed over the Doctor's face. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tell her. To grab her hand and run with her to the Forbidden Forest where the TARDIS was, and show her everything, all the things she believed in, places bigger than even she could imagine. To sit on the floor of the TARDIS and have a tea party with her namesake. To fall in love with the moon reflected in her eyes. To see the whole wide world with her. He wondered what it would look like to her.

And that fact that he couldn't; that he was stuck here, pretending to be someone else, that she believed him, and trusted him, so there was no way he could tell her, it broke him. It broke both his hearts.

They finished their butterbeer as they swapped uncharacteristic small talk. The Doctor dropped four Sickles and a tip on the table before they left.

They went to Honeyduke's and got sugar quills and Chocolate Frogs. They saved the quills and ate the frogs on the way to Spintwitches Sporting Goods, where the Doctor bought a Moontrimmer broomstick and a broom servicing kit. Roger told him to buy one, as it was essential to Beaters; their brooms got knocked around the most while they fought off Bludgers.

By the time they left, it was time to head back to the school. Luna and the Doctor hopped into one of the empty carriages and sat quietly, looking out opposite windows until they were back at the castle.


	8. Rumors, Classes, Check-Ups

The next morning at breakfast, the Doctor and Luna caught snatches of a conversation behind them.

"Cursed…necklace…Hogsmeade..."

"Cursed!" the Doctor interrupted, turning around. "Who's been cursed? Where? How?"

The student, a Hufflepuff, turned her head. "Katie Bell. Apparently she was in the bathroom at the Three Broomsticks, and found a necklace in the loo, and put it on, and it cursed her."

"No, I heard it was given to her," said another Hufflepuff.

"It was in a package, and she said she had to deliver it, and she and Leanne fought over it, then it tore and then she flew up into the sky and screamed," a Ravenclaw sitting near Luna said. "I was there, on the street when it happened. Creepy, the way her limbs were, and everything. Leanne says she's at St. Mungo's now."

"But…where…why would someone leave a cursed necklace in the girls' room?" asked a young Slytherin, who had been walking past and overheard the conversation.

"On purpose of course," said the Doctor darkly. "If she was meant to deliver it…it was meant for somebody. She was only the messenger."

"Who would _do_ that? Who was it meant for?"

"Maybe… maybe it was You-Know-Who!" said a Hufflepuff.

"That's ridiculous, Voldemort wouldn't leave a necklace in the girls' bathroom." The Doctor shook his head. "If it was him, he'd send someone to do it for him."

"You…you said…" said the Slytherin softly.

"What?" Everyone was gaping at the Doctor right in the middle of the entry way.

"Only Harry Potter calls him that," said the Gryffindor girl.

"Oops. Slip of the tongue…," he mumbled.

"Come on, John, let's go to the library," Luna said, standing up from the table.

"Right. Yes, let's do that." They wove through the coming and going students and made their way to the library

"It's a pity about Katie," Luna said as they climbed the stairs. "She was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She's very good. Seems nice, too."

"Yes. I do wonder who it was meant for, though. Seems unlikely to just curse any student who happens inside."

"I don't think we should worry about it. She's in good hands, and so is the necklace." Luna waved at one of the portraits on the wall, and the woman in it waved back.

"I guess so," the Doctor said. They reached the library, and sat down at a table to do their homework.

The next day, during Defense Against the Dark Arts, the Doctor and his Hufflepuff partner were trying to jinx each other with a new spell non-verbally. Professor Snape was wandering between students as they practiced. He stopped between the Doctor and his partner.

"Your wand please, Mr. Smith," he said coolly.

"Um…here, sir." The Doctor handed him the Sonic Screwdriver.

Snape examined it from all angles, pressing buttons and flicking switches.

"The core?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Pardon?"

"Hasn't got one, sir," the Doctor repeated. "It's, uh… we made them. Out of parts. It's got a bit of Muggle technology mixed in."

"Muggle technology?"

"Yes, Professor Burbage was quite fascinated by it," the Doctor nodded.

"Mm," the Doctor pressed the red button, aiming it at the Hufflepuff. He stumbled backwards into a chair.

"Your school, I recall Professor Dumbledore saying, was infiltrated by Death Eaters, was it not?"

"Yes, sir. Upon V—He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's request. He didn't approve of the merging of magic and Muggle technology. All the students had to evacuate, and were relocated."

"Probably for the best. A school like that simply begs to be attacked."

The Doctor didn't reply. Snape handed back his wand. "If I were you, Mr. Smith, I would be very careful with whom I shared the information of my previous education. It could be, how should I say this…? Used against you."

Snape squinted at him for a moment before he walked away.

"Class dismissed."

The Doctor shuddered as he picked up his schoolbag and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

After classes were over for the day, the Doctor dropped off his things and went to visit the TARDIS. He stumbled down the quickly sloping lawn, walked past Professor Hagrid's hut, quietly into the Forbidden Forest, making sure nobody was around to see him disappear between the trees.

There it was, the sign at the top glowing. It looked at him with a tired happiness, the way one spouse looks at the other after coming home from a long day at work.

"Hello, old girl." He ran his hand across the edge of the door. "Sorry I've been away so long. But I have lots to tell you."

With that, he pulled open the door, the familiar squeak making him smile as he stepped inside.

He walked once around the control panel, familiarizing himself with the gadgets, many of which had begun to be covered with a fine layer of dust form not being used for so long.

"I know. I know you can't stand being in one place for too long. Normally I can't either."

The Doctor slumped into a chair and put his feet up on the control panel. The TARDIS blinked and whirred at him.

"Yes, I said normally. Normally, because I've made a friend here, and she's good at keeping life interesting."

The TARDIS stayed quiet.

"Her name's Luna. Luna Lovegood. She's in my House. She's smart, and creative, and funny, and wise, and so very imaginative.

"And she's pretty. The far-away sound of her voice. Her shining eyes, her thick, tangly, long blonde hair. The way she walks."

The TARDIS blipped and flashed.

"No, I don't fancy her!" The Doctor exclaimed folding his arms defensively.

The ship was silent. If it had eyebrows, one would be raised in skepticism.

"Well, sort of. Kind of. It's complicated. Anyway! She knows about us. Yeah, her father told her this legend about an man and his box. She found us in a book at the library the other day. It was an old me, so my cover wasn't totally blown. And anyway, she doesn't believe we're real. All of her creatures, Wrackspurts, Nargles, and it's us she doesn't believe in. They're real, though. The Wrackspurts. And the Nargles. I took her advice on how to get rid of them, and my head just feels so much clearer.

"Everyone thinks she's batty for believing in stuff like that, but honestly. They go to magic school, how much more far-fetched can it get?"

The TARDIS trilled at him.

"No, we can't leave yet. We've gotta stay here."

It beeped indignantly.

"_Because _we can't go until I have someone to take with me. You made up that rule, remember?"

Another beep.

"I can't tell her yet. She trusts John Smith. I'm her friend. I'm one of the only people who doesn't think she's bananas. We can't Apparate to or from Hogwarts grounds. But then…how did we get here?"

The Doctor hopped up. "You!"

The TARDIS said nothing.

"Yes, you! You can leave, you just won't!"

The TARDIS gave a shuddering squeaky noise.

"No, I can't! I'm not leaving Luna here! And I am not telling her. Not until I have to. So there."

The Doctor shook out his robes. "Anyway, I just dropped by to say hello, see how you're doing. Hello! How are you? Good. Alright. I'm going to go now."

He pushed the door open and marched away. Why did his spaceship have to have a personality?


	9. Head Against Heart

A week later at dinner, the Doctors legs were bounding and his fingertips buzzed with anticipation. The first Quidditch practice was in less than an hour.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, John," Luna said for the umpteenth time that day.

"Yeah. I know, I'm fine. I'm ready not nervous at all."

"Not at all?"

"Not a smidge. Why do I seem nervous to you?"

"Well, do nervous people pour gravy into their pumpkin juice?" Luna asked.

The Doctor turned his attention to his glass. His hand was held over it, holding a gravy boat, filling his goblet that was already half-full with juice with gravy. He put down the boat.

"Herm. Um, _scourgify_." The Doctor pointed his Screwdriver at his cup. The gravy sitting on top of the juice disappeared. The Doctor took a tentative sip of his juice. "All better."

Luna smiled through a bite of potatoes.

"Okay, so I'm maybe a bit nervous. But I just want to do well, that's all."

"You will, John. Roger wouldn't have put you on the team if he didn't think you'd do well. Anyway, if you need an incentive to not get hit in the head by a Bludger and end up in the hospital wing, I was wondering if you'd like to join me in the Astronomy tower after practice to stargaze."

"I think that's just enough incentive. I mean, I was already planning on keeping my health intact, but this is just icing on the cake."

Luna tilted her head. "I'm not sure if I understand."

"Oh. It's a, a….Muggle expression."

"Oh. I see. So, was everyone at your old school Muggleborn?"

"Or half-blood," the Doctor nodded.

"And which are you?"

"Half-blood," the Doctor answered. That was the blood status he and Dumbledore decided on while they when they were working on his backstory.

"That's interesting. Not that it really matters. It's just a fascinating thing to know about somebody. Though of course, some people think it's important that a wizard has pure blood. But that just seems silly to me. What's a person's blood say about their character? Absolutely nothing."

"I couldn't agree more, Luna," the Doctor nodded as he stared down at his bowl of soup.

"You seem sort of lost in your thoughts. I can leave you to them, if you like," Luna said, not unkindly, pushing away form the table.

"No!" The Doctor reached out for her hand. "I'd…I'd like you to stay."

Luna sat back down. "Okay. How can I help?"

"Distract me?"

"How?"

"Is there a new _Quibbler_?"

"Oh yes, I have it in my bag." Luna pulled her bag out from beneath the table and rifled through it until she found the issue of _The Quibbler _that she had received that week. She opened it and set it on the table between them. They read it and ate in silence.

When they reached the other cover, the Doctor gasped, checked his watch and jumped to his feet. "I have to be on the pitch in ten minutes!" He down the dregs of his pumpkin juice and clambered over the bench. He started to run out of the Great Hall, but turned around, heading back to the Ravenclaw table.

"Thanks for keeping me company, Luna." He pushed a kiss into her cheek, and ran off again. "See you after practice!"

"See you!" Luna called.

Fifteen minutes later, the Doctor was sitting on his broomstick fifty feet from the ground, chatting with a fellow Beater, a fifth year named Rachel.

"So you're Luna's friend, right?" she asked, kicking her feet. There wasn't much to do for the Beaters at the moment; Roger was busy working with the new Chasers, and hadn't released the Bludgers yet.

"That I am." He gave a nod.

"Smith! Hayweather! I'm releasing the Bludgers!" Roger yelled from the ground across the pitch.

Rachel gave him a thumbs-up, then looked back at the Doctor. "So, how's that?"

"Being her friend? Smashing." The Doctor watched the Bludgers shoot into the air and whiz across the pitch.

"Really?"

"Yes." The Doctor raised his bat and swung it at a Bludger that was barreling towards him. It went flying in the direction it came from. "Luna makes for fantastic company."

Rachel flew a few feet ahead to a Bludger zooming towards Cho Chang, the Seeker of the team, and whacked it away.

"She's in my dorm, and my Muggle Studies class, but I've never talked to her, like had an actual conversation," she said, heaving the bat over her shoulder. "Some people, well, I suppose you know what some people think of her."

"You should talk to her."

"Yeah? Maybe I will."

"You won't be bored, I can promise you that. This morning she—oh, hang on a mo." The Doctor thwacked a Bludger across the pitch, then rolled his shoulder and sniffed. He looked back at Rachel. "This morning, she was talking about this theory that the moon is an indecisive alien that thinks it wants to visit Earth, then shies away. And all the moon cycles are a result of it being self-conscious. And when it changes colors, it's really expressing it's emotions."

"Really."

"Yes. Quite an interesting idea, don't you think?"

"Yeah, interesting." Rachel raced forward to knock a Bludger out of a Chaser's way. "She's almost never in the dorm. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and she's not there."

The Doctor didn't say anything in reply. He swung his feet out of the stirrups of the broomstick and swung them.

"Do you know where she goes?"

The Doctor gripped the bat with both his hands and hit a Bludger that was coming towards him at the speed of sound, and hit it so hard it soared through the hoops at the other end of the pitch. He nearly fell off his broom, but Rachel set him upright.

"OI! WHO DID THAT?!" Roger hollered.

The Doctor tentatively stuck his hand in the air.

"YOU ALMOST KILLED MY KEEPER! SEND THE BLUDGERS THE OTHER BLOODY WAY NEXT TIME, SMITH!"

"Sorry! SORRY, GRANT!"

Roger sighed audibly. He looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. "Practice is over. Put your brooms away, hit the showers. Same time next week."

After taking a shower and changing into a cozy sweater and his favorite pants and boots, the Doctor made his way up to the Astronomy Tower. Luna was already there, lying on a blanket festooned with an array of squashy, comfy-looking pillows and cushions.

"How was Quidditch practice?" Luna asked without turning her head to look at him.

"Um…I almost killed Grant Page when I whacked a Bludger in the wrong direction." The Doctor walked over and sat down on the blanket beside her.

"Oh, dear."

"But other than that, it was fine. I talked with the other Beater a bit. Rachel?"

"Oh, yes, her bed is across from mine in the dormitory."

"Yeah, she said. She's cool. I like her. She asked me about you."

"Did she?"

"Yes. I told her she should talk to you sometime."

"It would be nice to have another friend," said Luna.

"Anyway, what did you do this evening?"

"I did my Potions homework, then I came up here to watch the sun set."

"Fun, fun." The Doctor lay back against the pillows and folded his hands on his stomach.

"I thought so."

They were quiet until the sky darkened. The Doctor pointed out constellations and the lore behind them.

"You seem to know everything about space," Luna said after he finished telling her the myth of Virgo. "What about it interests you so?"

"Everything. The mystery the vastness, the wonder. There's so much out there, stretching on and on and nobody has seen all of it yet. There are new planets and new people out there, waiting to be discovered. And nobody's seen it."

"The Doctor's seen it," Luna said. "I've decide to believe in him. All there is in this world, all the magic, why can't there be a time-traveling alien somewhere? He's just as likely to exist as Nargles are. And I know that they're real."

"Yeah? Good for you, Luna. The Doctor is probably happy to have someone believe in him," the Doctor said, meaning it.

They stared silently up at the sky for a few minutes. The Doctor was battling with himself. His heart wanted to tell her, his mind knew he shouldn't and his tongue was caught in the in-between, his mouth open, ready to talk if his heart won.

"L—Luna? Can I tell you something?"

"Of course you can, John."

How should he say this? "So, um… Gallifrey is—Oh! Did you see that?" He interrupted himself, sitting up and pointing at the sky.

"The comet? Yes, I did. It was lovely. Muggles make wishes on them when they see them."

"Yeah. Yeah, they do."

"I made a wish."

"You did?"

"Yes. Did you?"

"No." He was too busy being thankful for the distraction. "But that's alright. That wish is all yours, Luna. I hope it comes true."

"So do I," Luna said. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, um. I forgot."

"I know that you didn't," Luna said, not exactly accusingly, yet still making the Doctor's stomach knot up. "But that's okay. You'll tell me when you're ready to."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. We should go back. The Prefects might start looking for us."

"You're right," The Doctor stood, and helped Luna up. "Let's go."


	10. Busted

Luna knew she shouldn't be in the Forbidden Forest.

But it had been so long since she'd visited the Thestrals, it was all she could think about during her classes.

So, after dinner, at gloaming, she smuggled some old meat from the kitchens in the basement, and made her way to the paddock where they stayed.

On her way back, she could almost see the candy floss and gold paint the sky through the trees. But she was more interested in the box she came across.

The Doctor didn't always wear a tweed jacket and bow-tie. On lazy days, like this Friday after class, he'd just wear comfy jeans and a t-shirt as he made himself a pot of macaroni and cheese in the TARDIS's kitchen. He was going to take a big bowl of it to the console room and eat it in his chair while he had a nice, long chat with his ship.

This box. This big, blue, box. Bigger than her. With a little lamp at the top, and the words "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX" just below it. She knew this box. It was his box. He called it Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. TARDIS. It was the Doctor's ship.

And he just might be inside. And Luna never passed up an opportunity to explore.

And so she pulled open the door. And stepped inside.

The pot of water nearly boiled over as he lost himself in his thoughts. He had to tell Luna. Not so he could leave, but because she deserved to know. Because she believed in him. All the things she believed in, she deserved to see at least one of them with her own eyes. He couldn't just show up to breakfast one day, and say, "Good morning, Luna, I'm not really John Smith, I'm the Doctor and I've been keeping it from you for the last two months. Pass the orange juice, will you?"

He sighed heavily and snatched the pot off the burner before there was another mess he had to take care of.

Luna's eyes, already quite large, took up nearly her entire face when she entered the TARDIS. For one thing, the outside seemed much smaller than the inside. As far as she could tell, the ship went on forever. Like an Undetectable Extension charm.

There was a big doohickey in the middle of the ship, with all manner of gadgets and gizmos. _This is how he pilots it_, she thought.

Upon looking down, she saw that the floor was glass, and past her reflection, she could see wires and machines that made the whole thing run. All of it was so fascinating. She wanted to ask him how it all worked. She wondered if he was around.

Armed with his favorite bowl and fork, the Doctor padded down the hall in his bare feet to the console room, stabbing the delicious cheesy noodles and shoving them in his mouth as he went along.

"Alright, sexy, tell me all about your week," the Doctor called, scooping up more noodles as he chewed the ones already in his mouth. "I'm sure it's no different than the one before that, and the one before that, but hey, I'm still curious about…"

He froze. With his fork halfway to his mouth. Because the console room wasn't empty.

Luna had decided to start down a hall in pursuit of the man who owned this ship. She stopped in her tracks, when she heard a voice, a voice she knew, talking. To what she had to assume was the ship. He didn't know she was there. He'd never call _her_ sexy.  
He being John.

Because that's the person she was standing in front of. That's the one who was wearing a mustard colored jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. His face frozen in mid-chew of a mouthful of …something. Holding a bowl, and a fork, which was halfway to his mouth, loaded with macaroni and cheese.

Until it fell off his fork, back into his bowl, that was.

He swallowed. "Hi," he said.

"Hello," Luna replied evenly.

Then there was more staring.

He was busted.

"So…you know the Doctor?" Luna asked.

"Uh. Erm. Well. Yes. And. I mean."

"Is he in the kitchen, or someplace, about to come out with a bowl of macaroni and cheese, too?" she asked in a tone he'd never heard her use, but probably deserved.

"L—Luna, I…"

"It's okay. You don't have to answer that."

The Doctor closed his mouth.

"I know who you are. I've known for awhile. That's why I decided I believed in him. Because there was something about you. I knew you were hiding something. I wasn't sure if it was that you were the Doctor or that you knew him, but…now I do."

His shoulders slumped. He decided to speak again.

"Perhaps," he said slowly, carefully. "The conversation that is inevitably about to take place would go over more smoothly if we both had a bowl of this stuff." He lifted his dish of pasta.

"Perhaps it would." Luna followed him through the halls to the kitchen.


	11. Defying Gravity

Luna and the Doctor sat across from each other at the kitchen table with bowls of macaroni and cheese and the Doctor told Luna about how he ended up at Hogwarts.

"…So it's stuck here?" Luna asked.

"More or less." The Doctor shrugged. "It won't let me go anywhere without someone else."

"I see."

They took bites of mac and cheese at the same time.

"So…so, who else knows?" Luna asked.

"Professor Dumbledore. He helped me come up with a cover story."

"And that's it? None of the other professors?"

"Not that I know of." He shook his head.

Luna ate more pasta.

"Are you…are you mad at me?" the Doctor asked tentatively.

Luna tilted her head. "Do you want me to be?"

"Um?"

"Because I could be. I could try, anyway. I haven't been mad about something, really, outwardly mad, in a really long time. Not since my mum died."

The Doctor looked at her sadly.

"If I was mad," Luna asked. "What would you expect me to do?"

"I don't know. Yell at me. Stop being my friends. Threaten to let my secret get out."

"I'd never do any of those things." Luna shook her head.

He let his shoulders drop. "_Thank you_,"

"Know what I will do, though?"

The Doctor braced himself. "What?"

"I'm going to make you fly me to the moon. I've always wanted to meet it."

The Doctor jumped up, bumping the table. "Then what are we waiting for?!"

He grabbed her hand, and tugged her to the console room with him. "Ooh, it's been so long!" He flipped switches and twisted knobs, leaping, running, practically skipping around the console. With a final yank of a lever, the TARDIS made its whooshy wheezy sound, and lit up. The Doctor stepped back clumsily, laughing and clapping his hands.

Luna gripped a chair to steady herself, her face alight with wonderment as the ground shook beneath her feet. With a thud, everything went quiet.

"Are we there?" she asked.

He nodded. He took her hand, and walked with her to the door, pushing them open.

"Luna, the moon. Moon, Luna," he introduced them.

"It's so big." Luna said.

"Yeah." He sat in the doorway, his feet dangling over. He patted the floor beside him. Luna sat down. "So, the thing about the moon is that it reflects the sun. That's why it appears to be in different shapes. They're called moon cycles."

"So it isn't self-conscious, then?"

"I don't think so. It doesn't have any reason to be. Look how beautiful it is."

"But why does it appear larger, and turn different colors?"

"That's called the Moon Illusion. It never grows smaller or larger. It's all about the angle at which it is being seen. It can seem larger from the horizon than it does from the sky. I don't exactly know why, though. Still trying to figure that one out. But the color thing is all from Earth's atmosphere. The scattering of light. When the moon is near the horizon, see, it has to pass through a lot more atmosphere than when its over our heads. By the time the moonlight reaches your eyes, the green, blue, and purple bits of visible light have already been scattered by air molecules, so all you see is yellow, orange, or red."

"Really?"

"You learn about it in NEWTS Astronomy," the Doctor said. Then he added, "But I already knew about it."

"Yes, I suppose Astronomy is a class that comes easily to you." Luna wiggled her feet. "How are we breathing? I thought you couldn't breathe in space."

"There's a sort of bubble of air around the TARDIS. Any other questions?"

"How old are you, really?"

"A thousand and something. I've sort of lost track."

Luna blinked at him. But, you don't look as old as the Doctors in the books."

"They're all my old faces. I've had ten other ones. This is my eleventh."

"Oh. They change whenever you start to die, right?"

He nodded. "If something kills me. If I let myself live a sheltered existence, I could go on living forever. But that's too boring."

"Of course." Luna was quiet for a while. "I think that's all the questions I have for now."

"It is slightly helpful that you already knew a bit about me."

"What should I call you? I don't want to accidentally let slip your real name."

"I can see how that could be problematic. Call me John. At least at school."

"You're coming back to Hogwarts?"

"I can't go anywhere for the time being without a companion. I couldn't leave you if I tried. Not without leaving my ship behind. Besides, I wouldn't leave you, Luna. Of course I wouldn't. And I'm having so much fun there."

"I'm glad."

"Plus, the Quidditch team would suffer without my talents."

"I'm sure it would," Luna suppressed a giggle.

"Do you want a better view of space?"

"Oh, yes. Are we going someplace?"

"I'm not," the Doctor said. "But you are."

"I am?"

He nodded. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Jump out the door."

A confused look crossed Luna's face, but quickly passed. She did trust him, after all.

"Okay."

"But don't jump forward. Just jump out."

Luna's tongue peeked out of the corner of her mouth. She bent her knees, then leapt, up and out of the ship. For a split second she was floating freely, but then the Doctor grabbed her ankle, anchoring her.

Luna's hair lifted from her shoulders and floated in ripples above her. Her butterbeer cap necklace lifted off her collarbone where it sat, and twisted around independently of itself, looped loosely around her neck. Luna looked up, into the infinite blackness surrounding her. She felt insignificant. Like a little wisp of smoke. Tiny. Unnoticeable. And very, very lucky.

"So, what do you think, Luna?" The Doctor asked her.

"I think…I wonder what's out there."

"I could show you."

"You could?"

"Yeah. It could be you and me, this little box, versus the entire cosmos."

"For how long?"

"As long as we want. We've got all the time in the world. In every world."

"I suppose you're right."

"So, what do you say, Luna Lovegood?" The Doctor asked, pulling her back down. "Will you be my companion?"

"Hmm," Luna put her hands on the Doctor shoulders, her feet still suspended as he held her waist. "I'd like that very much, Doctor."

"Ha ha!" The Doctor pulled her back inside, spinning around with her before he set her on her feet.

In the back of his mind, the Doctor registered that the room still self like it was spinning, but the rest of him was completely enthralled by Luna and her eyes.

After a long period of time, Luna said, "If I'm correct in thinking that you and I want to do the same thing right now, you should do it. You'd be the first."

And so the Doctor dipped his head down. One simple touch, and Luna was defying gravity all over again.


	12. To the Moon and Back

They sat there, on the floor of the TARDIS, not speaking. The Doctor held Luna fast against him. He was happy. The anxiety he'd had over whether he should tell her or not was gone. She wasn't mad. She was the opposite of mad. And now he could travel again. With her.

It had been so long since he'd loved someone. Hundreds of years. The last had been Rose, and he had left her with his other self on a beach in Norway.

He never actually fell in love with River. She was more of a force of nature, too unpredictable. There was still so much he didn't know about her.

But Luna? Luna he could fall in love with. Over and over. With each new smile, and every time she said his name. He could love her more than he would miss her.

So he decided he would let him fall in love with her. And, since this was a day of confessions:

"Hey, Luna?"

"Mm?" Her voice hummed against his shoulder.

"I think I might fall in love with you."

He could hear her smile against his skin. "You'd be the first for that, too, I think."

"That's a title I'll wear proudly." He twisted his neck to drop a kiss on her forehead. "Would you like to go back home?"

"To Hogwarts? Yes, please. I'm rather tired." Luna sat up and stretched.

The Doctor rubbed her shoulder. "Alright. I'll set the course."

The Doctor stood up, and flicked a few of the console's buttons. He put his hand on a lever, curling his fingers around it, smiling to himself, looking at Luna's form, her back to him. Her arms wound around her bent knees, her head tilted towards her left shoulder. With a soft, happy sigh, he pulled the lever, and the TARDIS started its journey back to the school.

The Doctor felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, and a head resting just above the small of his back.

"Thank you for taking me with you." He could feel Luna's breath through his t-shirt, and it sent little tingles along his spine. "And I think I could fall in love with you, too." Luna yawned, just as the TARDIS touched the ground.

The Doctor grasped her hand, and walked with her out of the TARDIS.

"Ooh, it's gotten dark," he noted. "I must have set the coordinates for a bit in the future. No matter. Let me just…" The Doctor fished his Screwdriver out of his pocket and clicked it on. It flashed a pillar of green light in front of them, so they could see well enough to walk back to the castle.

"PROFESSOR! I FOUND THEM, PROFESSOR!" A rickety old voice screeched as they walked out of the forest. "They've come out of the Forbidden Forest!"

The owner of the voice, Mr. Filch, shined a lantern in there faces, his own face twisted into a look of fury at the inconvenience their absence has caused him. Luna and the Doctor lifted hands to their eyes to shield them from the blinding glare.

"Mister Smith! Miss Lovegood!" Professor Flitwick bustled over to them form across the lawn. "Lower your lantern, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch lowered the lantern to hang by his side, sneering at them.

"Wher_ever _have you been? Curfew was over an hour ago!" Professor Flitwick threw his hands in the air.

"Er, um… Sorry, Professor. We didn't mean to be gone this long, honest," the Doctor laughed nervously.

"Well, regardless of what you meant to do, what you did do was break curfew. And to visit the Forbidden Forest, no less!" Flitwick scolded "Ten points from Ravenclaw for the pair of you. You're lucky I don't give you detention for the weekend."

"That will do, Professor," Professor Dumbledore walked up to the group. "Mr. Smith, Miss Lovegood, if I may have a word with you in my office, please. You may as well come, too, Filius." Dumbledore turned to Filch. "Thank you Mr. Filch, but your services are no longer required. Please feel free to return to your evening tea and your cat."

The three of them followed Dumbledore to his office. He said a password to a gargoyle guarding the entrance (Acid Pop!) and it hopped aside to give way to a spiral staircase, which they all climbed, until they reached the large door that led to Dumbledore's office. The Professor opened the door, and they all entered.

"Now, let's all have a seat, shall we?" Dumbledore walked behind his desk and lowered himself into the large chair that stood there. The Doctor, Luna, and Professor Flitwick.

"Now, as I understand, Mr. Smith and Miss Lovegood have neglected the curfew and paid a visit to the Forbidden Forest, which I did indeed, say was forbidden at the beginning of term?" Dumbledore asked.

"Precisely," Flitwick nodded. "I took ten points each from Ravenclaw."

"That shan't be necessary, Professor," Dumbledore said.

"Thank goodness. I'd like Ravenclaw to have a shot at the House Cup this year. Er, might I ask why?"

"Forgive me for revealing you, Doctor," Dumbledore said.

"Whatever gets us out of trouble, sir." The Doctor smiled. His smile quickly went away. "Wait, no. That isn't what…"

"Quite alright." The Doctor rose a hand to silence him.

"Sorry, Professor, but did you just refer to Smith as 'Doctor'?" Flitwick asked.

"Yes, Filius, I did. You see, Mr. Smith came to me just before term began, and asked for my assistance. His real name, you see is, the Doctor. He's not a wizard, but an alien from the planet Gallifrey who travels time and space in his ship. He and his ship landed here, and could not leave, so the Doctor came to me, and asked me to assist him in coming up with an alias as new student. Miss Lovegood, I presume Mr. Smith has told you all this already."

"Oh, yes. We had a nice talk."

"Very good. Now, you see, Filius, part of our agreement was that the Doctor could visit his ship, located in the Forbidden Forest, as often as he pleased. I assume that was what he was doing this evening. And you brought Miss Lovegood with you, correct, Doctor?"

"Actually, I was…"

"Yes! Yes, that I did, sir." The Doctor squeezed Luna's hand, silencing her.

"From what I understand, the ship would not let him leave if he did not have a new companion to take with him on his adventures. The Doctor seems to have found a friend in Miss Lovegood here, so it is to be gathered from that information that the two went on a trip between the hours after dinner and before curfew."

"Yes, that's what happened," the Doctor agreed. "And the ship, well, sometimes I'm not too attentive to exactly _when _I'm landing, if you catch my drift. It was my intention to land us back where we were, at the time it was when we left. It seems I miscalculated by an hour or two."

"An easy mistake." Dumbledore stood up. "So, that is the story, that is why Ravenclaw's points have been restored, and all's well. Now, I believe it's high time these two went to bed. Even I myself would like to curl up with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. Goodnight, Mr. Smith, Miss Lovegood, Professor Flitwick."

The three got up and made their way to the door.

"Oh, and Professor?" Dumbledore said just as they were about to leave. "Do you think you could manage to keep this little meeting between the four of us I, and Mr. Smith, I believe, would appreciate it greatly. Sweet dreams!"

Professor Flitwick gave a sort of bow, and they all left the office.

"Right, I trust you two can find your way back to Ravenclaw Tower. I shall see you bright and early tomorrow morning at breakfast." Flitwick bumbled down the hall to his quarters.

"Well, that went over quite smoothly," Luna said quietly as they climbed the spiral stairs to the Tower.

"Yes, it did."

The Doctor answered a riddle, through a bit off sleepy slurring and rambling, and after almost a full minute standing outside the door, the eagle shaped knocker got tired of listening to him and just let them inside.

"It's straight to bed with me," the Doctor said as they walked through the Common Room. "I'll see you in the morning, Luna."

"Goodnight, Doctor." Luna began the trip up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"Wait," the Doctor said.

Luna turned around on the steps. "Yes?"

The Doctor took her hand, and leaned forward. He touched his lips to hers, just once. Softly. He smiled and placed his forehead against Luna's.

"I love doing that," he whispered. He kissed her cheek. "Sweet dreams, Miss Lovegood."

The Doctor let go of her hand and went up the steps to the boys' dorms. Luna sighed with exhausted contentment and continued up the stairs.


	13. It's Today

The Doctor woke up on a late November morning to the sun forcing its way through his eyelids. He fought to sit up, his arms sinking into the sofa's squashy cushions (he and Luna had fallen asleep there last night) every time he moved. After a good amount of flailing and wiggling, he was up. He sighed and settled against the back of the couch lazily.

And then he remembered.

He gasped and shot straight up. "It's today."

It, of course, being the first Quidditch match of the season. They were playing against Hufflepuff, an hour after breakfast. Luna was commentating.

"It's today, it's today," he repeated, pacing around the couch. "Today."

"What's today?" Luna's cloudy, sleepy voice said.

"What?" He turned to look at her. "Quidditch is."

"It is, isn't it? Are you nervous?"

He didn't lie. She'd be able to tell, and call him on it in a second. "Yes. Are you?"

"I don't think so. Rather excited, actually." Luna stood up and stretched her arms over her head, then bent over, and stretched her back in a downward-dog position. She stood back up. "I'm going to get dressed and go downstairs to breakfast."

"Good idea. I am also going to do that." He kissed her forehead, and scrambled up the stairs to the dorms.

Roger had insisted that all the players, (well, everyone besides Cho; he didn't want her to get sluggish) ate a big breakfast. But with an empty plate and a tens-of-feet-long table before him, the Doctor had no idea what to eat. Or even if he felt like eating. His stomach would twist unpleasantly every time he heard the word 'Quidditch' or anything to do with it.

"Come on, Smith, just snatch the first thing your eyes fall on and put it on your plate," said Rachel.

Right in front of him was a dish of fried tomatoes. He grimaced.

Luna buttered him a piece of toast, slathered it with marmalade, and set it on his plate. He smiled gratefully at her, and took a bite.

"You're going to do really good, you know," Luna said matter-of-factly. "Smith wouldn't have out you on the team if he didn't think you were up to the task."

"Haven't you said that before?"

"It's still true. I've heard him say he's very happy with how the team has improved."

The Doctor swallowed another bit of toast. "Thanks."

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is so short and late. I wanted to get something up for Harry and JK Rowling's birthday. Next up: Quidditch!


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